Street Fighter EX3 – Sony PS2 Multiplayer Battle in 3D

Street Fighter EX3 – A 3D fighter on the Sony Playstation 2.

The third console installment in the Street Fighter EX series developed by Arika and published by Capcom. Street Fighter EX3 was released in 2000 for the PlayStation 2 in Japan and North America, and subsequently released in Europe in 2001.

Street Fighter EX3 follows a similar gameplay system to its predecessor Street Fighter EX2 Plus with characters being able to pull off similar moves like Super Combos and Meteor Combos. However, a difference here is that the “Guard Break” system from the previous installments has been removed and replaced with a similar system called the “Surprise Blow” (“Hard Attack” in Japan), which does not use up energy stored in “super bars,” although the attack can be blocked (only when standing).

Other additions are the “Critical Parade” (calling out a tag-partner to simultaneously battle your opponent for a limited time) and “Momentary Combo” (following a special attack with another). Some characters received new moves, such as Skullomania having a vertical projectile.

The core gameplay is essentially the same as previous installments, however EX3 features tag battles, similar to Capcom’s “Marvel VS” series, allowing players to switch between characters, and allowing greater combination possibilities.

In the Street Fighter EX3 single-player mode, the player can assemble a team of up to four characters,[2] and can choose the next opponent, as is possible in Street Fighter III. The bonus stage is a simplified version of the beat ’em up genre. In this mode, there are also incidental missions, which the player can complete in order to gain platinum, gold, silver and bronze trophies, which in turn unlock surprises.

In the Arena Mode, dramatic battles were possible, with 2-on-2 or 3-on-1, with flexibility via a multitap over each character being controlled by human or computer. Whereas the Original Mode uses new music based on the background stage, the VS and Team Battle Modes reuse themes from earlier games, which are based on the chosen characters.

In Character Edit Mode, the player can complete a series of challenges with the character Ace, and earn experience points, which can then be used to obtain new special moves and super combos for the character, which can then be applied to Ace to create a custom move list. A configuration example would be Sonic Boom, Shoryuken and Spinning Piledriver, as used by Seth in Street Fighter IV. This customized character could then be used in the other game modes.